Charlie’s POV

The bus rolled to a stop, and most everyone jumped up the second the engine’s roar ceased. Vic stood up with me, his hand resting on my lower back. Even during the course of the thirty-minute trip to the venue, Vic didn’t leave my side once. He was always so close—not that I minded.

Mike was the first one off the bus, followed by his drum tech, Casey, and the photographer, Adam. They all wanted to get inside early to start setting up and avoid a mob of fans. They didn’t mind the occasional few coming up to them, and of course they loved the mass numbers and they would never be rude to them, but they weren’t in the mood to be overwhelmed. I assumed they were all exhausted from the nonstop traveling. Jaime and Jess walked hand in hand as they exited the bus.

"Wait, Charlie," Vic whispered into my ear from behind me. He had a hand loosely resting on my waist.

"Coming guys?" Tony asked, turning to see if his band mate was following—everyone else had already left the bus.

"Yeah, I just have to talk to Charlie real quick," Vic assured, but by the way he squeezed my hip at his words I knew he had other things in mind. I smiled at Tony and innocently turned my head to Vic.

"Everything okay?"

He nodded with a slight grin. "Yeah," he breathed, gazing at me. He quickly shifted his eye contact to Tony, though, who was still standing at the bus door.

"We'll be out soon, Tone," Vic said.

Tony chuckled, obviously understanding what Vic was talking about even though Vic wasn't even trying to give it away. I imagined that they all could read each other well, living with each other for so much time out of the year. "You do that," he shook his head, and the moment Tony opened and shut the door, Vic flattened his hands on my stomach and pulled me into him, my back against his chest.

"I need you," he growled into my ear. His breath was hot and tingled on my skin. I gnawed on my lip and tilted my head back against his shoulder, my lips at his cheek.

"Don't you have to be somewhere?" I reasoned. He gently spun me around so we were facing each other and groaned a little, glancing at his watch.

"I have forty five minutes until sound check." The moment the last syllable escaped his slightly parted lips, he leaned forward even more and collided his mouth against mine. I didn't even realize that he had been walking backwards until his arm snuck around past my waist, opening the back lounge door, causing us to stumble in.

He continued to kiss me, and of course I kissed back. I couldn't get enough of the sweet taste of his soft lips on mine. Even with fire in his eyes, he was still being tender with me—gentle and protective, even though I could taste his burning desire on his tongue.

Vic nudged me back, and my legs bent at the edge of a couch, causing me to fall backwards. He immediately hovered over me, placing open-mouthed kisses along my jaw and neck. I took a handful of his hair on the back of his head, knocking off his hat in the process.

"Charlie," he whispered, pulling his lips away and staring at my face, directly in front of me.

"Hm?" I hummed. I ran my fingers through his hair lovingly.

"Is this okay? I didn't even ask. I just sort of attacked you," he chuckled. I internally cringed at Vic’s word choice—I knew what it was like to be attacked, and Vic was definitely not attacking me. I understood what he was trying to say, though.

"Don't be an idiot," I rolled my eyes and lifted my head up, kissing him hard.

"I take that as a yes," he mumbled against my mouth. I shook my head and laughed.

"Stop talking. We don't have that much time." I bit down on his lip threateningly, but not enough to leave a mark or draw blood—he had a show soon, he had to show his face. The guys and fans would question and that would be awkward.

Vic groaned and gripped my hips tightly with his hands, pulling me down sideways so I was lying across the couch and he was on top of me.

"Vic?" We stopped kissing for a moment, hearing someone knock on the back lounge door.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," he muttered. His hands stopped traveling around my body, and I kept my fingers linked around the back of his neck, frozen.

"It's fine," I said; I could see the fire in his eyes had been put out by the knock on the door, which effectively brought us both back to reality—the heat had risen and was long gone almost immediately after being interrupted.

Vic groaned and kissed my cheek sweetly before sitting up. "What?" He asked rather harshly—it didn't bother me, I was a little annoyed, too—while he opened the door. He leaned against the doorway, his arms crossed and I was sure an irritated expression on his face.

“People are lining up really early today. There are a lot of fans outside. You guys need to come out now, before it gets too crazy,” Jaime said, seemingly unbothered by the fact that he had interrupted us.

“Himes,” Vic sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. I sat up on the couch and straightened out my shirt, patted down my slightly messy hair, and picked Vic’s hat off of the floor. “It’s nothing we don’t know how to deal with, jesus,” he hissed.

“No, Vic, I’m serious.” Jaime leaned in and whispered something in Vic’s ear.

“Oh,” Vic said flatly. “Yeah, okay, thanks man,” he mumbled.

“Yeah. You okay?”

Vic nodded, and I wondered what they were talking back. “See you in a minute then.”

Without another words Jaime turned away, and he turned back to me. He smiled at me apologetically, and I stood up, handing him his hat.

“Everything okay?” I asked softly.

He nodded and let out a “yeah” in a breath.

“Vic,” I said, tracing my fingers up his arms and to his shoulders. He snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me close into him. “What’s going on?”

“Eh, it’s a hometown show, so there’s always a pretty big turnout here. But apparently it’s really big, more people than usual. Like some kids don’t even have tickets for the show itself and are here around the venue to, y’know, try and see us I guess,” he explained.

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“Nah, it’s a great thing! It’s amazing. But Jaime is worried because…” his voice trailed off. He paused and bit his lip.

I didn’t say anything. Instead, I brought my hands up to his head, taking off his hat with one hand and running my fingers through his hair with the other. I brushed his hair around his face and smoothed out his forehead before I twirled my fingers through his curls. I gently places his backwards hat back on; Vic raised his arms and tenderly grabbed my wrists, sliding his hands up until our fingers were intertwined. He kissed the back of my left hand and sighed.

“Jaime and Tony had gone around to chat with people who have been waiting in line all day. We like to do that because their support means a lot, and it’s still so crazy that they go through so much effort just to see us, y’know?” he sighed again. “But a lot of fans were saying things… now that it’s the end of the tour, all the fans know about what happened,” his eyes flickered to mine and then quickly back to the floor, “and apparently they all are here in large numbers because there’s a rumor that… that I’m still suicidal,” he shook his head.

“It’s just a rumor,” I said softly.

“I know. But it’s a little disturbing to think that all of our local fans have raced here, as if it’s the last time they’ll ever see me.”

“So Jaime was warning you about them?”

“Yeah. They all were going crazy asking for me to come out, I don’t know,” he frowned.

“Well they care about you, Vic. They love you,” I reminded him. “That’s not a bad thing.”

“I know. It’s just got me thinking again. None of this is bad, it’s just reminding me that my actions have consequences and I can’t forget about it.”

“I understand,” I stroked his cheek with my thumb. “It’ll be okay. You’ll give them a kick-ass show and make so many people’s day!” I smiled. He smiled back softly.

“Yeah, you’re right. I feel so bad though. I let so many kids down.”

“But at least you’re still here to make things right,” I assured, leaning up on my toes and pressing a light kiss on his lips. He grinned when I pulled away.

“You always know what to say,” he rested his forehead against mine. I kissed him again. He groaned and nuzzled his head against mine. “I want you so bad…”

“Horny bastard,” I teased, despite feeling the same way as him. He chuckled and kissed my lips again.

“Okay, let’s go before I loose control,” he grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the back, and I laughed.

“Shit,” he breathed.

“What is it?”

“There’s so many,” he nodded to the window, and my eyes widened at the amount of fans shuffling around the venue.

“Yikes.”

“Well, it’s now or never babe. Let’s go!” he grabbed my hand and yanked me to the door. He squeezed my hand tightly, recomposed himself, and opened the door. We walked calmly towards the back of the venue. Vic flashed his million dollar grin to the fans that spotted him, and I blushed because every time he went to respond to waves, he lifted the hand that was holding mine, waving back with both of our hands together.

“They know about you now,” he murmured into my ear.

“Uh oh?” I tried, unsure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Some people will talk shit, but most will love you. Whatever you see on social networking sites, don’t worry about it.”

“Good thing I don’t have any!”

“Really?” he asked as we walked into the back door.

“Really,” I confirmed.

“We’ll have to change that later,” he smiled.

“As you wish,” I rolled my eyes.

Vic just continued to smile as we navigated through the venue. He led me to the backstage area where there were people setting up and, further back, where the green rooms were. He took me into the one labeled for “Pierce the Veil.”

“About time you got here, fuckers!” Mike cheered, causing me to choke on air. My cheeks heated up to most likely a dark crimson.

“Oh, shut up, I cock blocked them,” Jaime said proudly, giving everyone an approving thumbs up. I buried my head into Vic’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry about them, Charlie. They’re just jealous,” Vic snickered.

“Not really,” Jaime said, pulling Jess into view. Her cheeks were blushing just like mine. Jaime kissed her cheek. I saw Mike shoot Vic a dirty look.

“Guys, this is Faith,” Tony grinned, pulling a girl to his side. She was a tiny, breathtakingly beautiful red head. I waved politely, as did everyone else.

Before anyone could say anything, though, the door opened. It was their tour manager. “Sound check, guys,” he reminded them.

“You can stay in here with the other girls or come with me and stand side stage during sound check,” Vic said.

“I’ll just stay here with them, I’ll watch you perform for real later,” I said happily.

“Okay,” he said. “We have a meet and greet after sound check so we’ll come get you before that. Oh! Mike, are Zoe and Chloe here?” he rambled.

Mike’s eyes visibly brightened up. “Not yet! They were going to DM me,” he said, holding up his phone that I assumed was logged into twitter.

“Okay. Well whenever they get here, maybe they can hang out with you ladies during the show?” Vic asked, looking at me, Jess, and Faith. We all smiled approvingly.

“Of course,” Jess chimed.

“Great,” Vic kissed my cheek, leaving a slobbery mess on my skin.

“Jerk,” I laughed, wiping my cheek with my sleeve. He shot me a toothy grin before disappearing with the other guys, leaving us girls in the room. I walked in further and sat down on the couch next to Jess.

“Hey,” I smiled.

“Hi, Charlie! Where have you been all month dude?” She asked. I frowned because I realized we didn’t hang out once. “I actually have been working a lot lately. It’s all a blur,” I laughed. I had been so focused on trying not to obsesses over Vic’s absence that I neglected Jess, who I was supposed to get together with at some point. I didn’t think she minded though; apparently the first time Jaime left for tour was hard for her, she wouldn’t leave her apartment. I wouldn’t say I was completely torn up over Vic being gone, but that was probably because I was so distracted.

“Ah, Charlie, you work at that tattoo shop, right?” Faith spoke up. I nodded. “I got a tattoo there two weeks ago, actually,” she said, standing up and walking over to me.

“Oh, really? Now that I think about it I actually think I recognize you,” I chuckled.

“Yeah, you were just at your desk designing I think. It was really busy that day so I only saw you briefly. But, here, this is what I got,” she rolled up her sleeve and extended her arm out, showing me her forearm.

“Holy shit,” I breathed with a smile. “This is my design,” I murmured, gazing up at her. It felt so surreal to have my work—although this was a simple, un-personalized design—on someone else, like a walking, living, breathing, canvas.

“Yeah, I would have gone up to you about it but you were busy! But thanks a lot, Charlie. I really love it,” she said kindly.

“That means a lot,” I smiled. She grinned and sat down on a neighboring couch.

The three of us sat around chatting for about an hour. I already knew I liked Jess, because I’ve met her before. Just from this brief encounter with Faith, though, I knew she was a sweet girl already. Tony chose well.

“Babe!” the door suddenly swung open, a screaming Vic tumbling into the room. Before I had a chance to react he tackled me in an energetic hug. I’ve never seen him so excited and outgoing before, and this made my heart throb because I knew how bad he used to be, and that time wasn’t even that far in the past. It just went to show how much better he was doing. Music obviously made him really happy, and I couldn’t help but think I made him happy, too. I smiled, because he made me happy too. He made everything better, he helped me forget.

“Oh my God hi Vic,” I laughed, patting his back.

“Hello beautiful,” he kissed my cheek. “Let’s go,” he grabbed my hand and I stood up with him. Jess was already ahead with Jaime and Faith was with Tony.

“Where’s Mike?” I asked as we walked out of the dressing room.

“He’s already at the meet and greet area. Zoe and Chloe are here, he said, so he’s letting them in early,” Vic explained.

“It’s really nice what you’re doing for them,” I murmured. “For Chloe,” I added, seeing as she was—apparently—the bigger fan with the recent birthday. The way Vic had described it, it seemed like Zoe knew who they were but was mainly there for her younger sister.

“Yeah,” Vic said softly, smiling broadly, his eyes glazing over for a moment as if he was thinking about something. “So what do you think about Tony’s new girl?” he mumbled in my ear.

I smiled. “She’s great, honestly. Did you know that she went to the tattoo shop I work at the other week, and she got one of my general designs!”

“Aw, that’s so cool baby!” he cooed, causing me to blush.

“Yeah, hey! I have the weekend off but when I go back into work next week, you should stop in, meet the crew and everyone,” I suggested.

“Sure, yeah, I’d like to do that,” he squeezed my hand. I smiled and rested my head against his upper arm only for a second before I lifted it up, seeing that we had arrived to the designated meet and greet area.

“We normally do these kinds of things after the shows, but,” he shrugged his shoulders, discontinuing his thought. The second Vic stepped foot outside to where the crowd of fans were waiting, I was surprised to hear screams and cheers. I smiled softly, though, seeing how happy Vic looked. It wasn’t in the people-are-screaming-my-name-oh-my-god-I’m-famous way, but a humble happiness. Like he individually loved every single person out here, and he couldn’t believe that this was real.

“Er, I’ll stand back here…” I suggested, seeing Faith and Jess standing aside on their phones and talking to each other.

“Are you sure? You can stay with me,” he said. I shook my head and smiled.

“Go do your thing,” I said. He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss before turning to where the rest of the guys were signing and taking pictures with fans.

I stood by the girls, but I spent most of the time gazing at Vic and the guys. They seemed so comfortable with all of their fans, even if they were strangers. It was so interesting to see them all interact, and I could just tell how much fun they were having. I watched Vic the most, seeing him giving out a lot of hugs and even wiping a lot of tears, making my heart swell. He was so genuine and wonderful to them all.

Soon, the security guards ushered the fans back into the venue where they entered the crowd—the doors weren’t even open for anyone else, meaning all of these kids got up front first. I saw the guys start to walk back to us—Mike seemed to have taken a particular interest in Zoe and was walking next to her, his arm loosely tossed around her shoulder. Tony and Jaime immediately went to their girlfriends, and I saw Vic with Chloe. He had been walking in our direction, but they had stopped. I watched as Vic turned to her and bent down to her level, his hands on either side of her head. He looked like he was talking to her seriously, his face contorted in a way I didn’t understand, and I thought, by reading his lips, that he said “I’m sorry”, but I couldn’t be sure. He then pulled her in for a hug, and I even saw him mumble more things in her ear. I tilted my head to the side, wondering what he was saying.

He pulled away and gently held her hand, walking back to us. Vic gave me a look—I couldn’t determine exactly what he was trying to say with his eyes, but when he got closer to us I saw his eyes were watered, despite the small smile on his face that, the more I looked at it, seemed a little forced. He brushed his fingers across my arm as he passed me, and I sent him a sympathetic look to tell him that I understood. I followed everyone inside, trailing quietly behind, taking in everything. The inside of the venue was a lot louder now as fans and other people started to fill it. Some even passed by, but they saw that the guys were rushed and only waved excitedly. Vic waved with his free hand.

“Fancy seeing you here, sweetheart,” I heard a low voice grumble in my ear. I broke out of my concentration and gasped slightly, abruptly flipping my head around.

“Everything okay, Charlie?” Vic suddenly appeared while I looked around wildly. There were too many people to pick someone out of the crowd, though.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” I breathed. I shook my head and smiled reassuringly.

“Okay,” he smiled back and grabbed my hand.

“Where’s Chloe?” I asked to spark a conversation and to distract my paranoid mind, realizing that he had just been with Chloe moments before.

“She went ahead with the other guys and her sister—” Before Vic could continue, I tugged on Vic’s arm, nearly digging my nails into his arms in unadulterated fear. My eyes widened and my breath caught in my throat as I made brief yet terrifying eye contact with a cold-hearted eyes that I thought I knew.

“Ow, Charlie,” he hissed, but at least I caught his attention. “What’s wrong?” he asked quietly, staring at me in concern. I fumbled on my words, but I gazed back at the spot where I had seen them.

“They’re here,” I gasped.

“Who’s here, darling?” he asked.

“Them,” I whimpered, drawing myself closer to Vic.

Vic still looked confused, and he looked around the crowded venue in an attempt to see what I was talking about. I tried to hide the fear—the last thing I wanted to appear was vulnerable—but I couldn’t help it. I glanced around again, my heart thumping in my chest.

“I don’t…” I breathed with a frown.

“Huh?”

“They’re gone,” I bit my lip.

I was just being paranoid. They wouldn’t be here; why would they be here? I was just paranoid from Mike’s words from earlier: worried that something bad will happen again. Nothing bad was going to happen, not with Vic here.

“Charlie?” Vic placed his hands at my elbows, turning me to him. He stared at me with concern in his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“I thought… I thought I saw something. I was wrong,” I shook my head, feeling embarrassed. Vic frowned and pulled me in for a hug.

“It’s okay,” he soothed. “You don’t have to be afraid,” he whispered in my ear. I nodded against the side of his head, taking a deep breath. I was fine; I was just paranoid because I haven’t been in such a large crowd with so many faces in a very long time.

“It’s fine, thanks. Sorry about that,” I shook my head again.

“It’s alright, sweetheart,” he kissed my forehead. “Hey, listen. You’ll be okay with all the girls, right? We go on in an hour. The guys and I always sort of isolate ourselves about an hour before show time, to warm up and stretch and get pumped up,” he explained. I nodded.

“Of course, yeah, do what you have to do,” I said. He smiled widely and kissed my lips passionately—catching me off guard.

“Hey Charlie…” he started. “I…” he trailed off, and I furrowed my eyebrows.

“What’s up?”

“I… I can’t wait for you to see the show,” he rushed. “I’ll see you soon,” he kissed my cheek quickly before turning around, heading to the dressing room with the other three guys.

The other girls stood side stage while the opening acts played. I stood a little back, not paying attention to the other bands, my mind distracted.

“Are you okay Charlie?” Jess asked. Faith was talking with Zoe while Chloe was watching the other bands excitedly.

“Yeah,” I smiled weakly. “I’m not feeling that great to be honest,” I admitted. “But it’s nothing,” I rushed.

“You sure? You do look a little sick,” she said sympathetically. I nodded and smiled again. I was just spooked, my imagination running wild.

“I’m good, promise,” I gave her a thumbs up. “This is really cool,” I said, grinning.

“Yeah, it takes some getting used to for sure, though,” she said, smiling too.

“Yeah, definitely. I’m so used to… well, never mind.”

Jess raised her eyebrows and I looked down at the floor. “What were you doing before you came to San Diego?” she asked.

“Staying here is like a clean slate, y’know? I don’t really…” I shook my head. I didn’t like to open up about my shitty life before meeting Vic. This was like a fresh start, a clean slate. I was like a new person.

Jess frowned slightly, but shrugged it off. I shifted my feet uncomfortably. Jess’s face brightened up, though, and I saw the guys appearing.

“You okay, baby?” Vic immediately came to my side, kissing my temple. I nodded and smiled. I looked away from him though, feeling guilty. I knew so much about Vic and his past and who he was, but he didn’t know that much about me. I have never really opened up specifically. “You sure?” he looked skeptical, running his fingers through my hair. He turned as someone handed him his guitar, swinging the strap over his shoulder. “We’ll talk later. I know when something’s bothering you,” he said.

“Have fun,” I smiled, making sure he didn’t lose his focus just because I was a little spooked for no reason. He grinned wildly and kissed me quickly. He turned and bounced on his toes.

Then, the other three guys ran onto stage, starting to play their instruments. Vic played a few chords, too, still side staged. His face was serious, though. I could hear the crowd roaring already. A stage manager handed Vic his microphone and he immediately started to scream into it. I shivered. He winked at me and slowly started to walk on stage. “Oh, no, please don’t abandon me! Mother, father, I love you so. But this is just me disguised as me! I’m the killer who burned your home!” he screamed, and then they exploded with the music, jumping around and playing intensely. It was amazing how into it they all were, interacting with the crowd and playing their hearts out. “This is the street youth rising up!” he screamed and then the music heightened even more as they played the rest of the song.

Their set went by in a flash. I was completely mesmerized by the entire thing—Mike practically having seizures behind the drum kit, Tony head banging and flipping his hair the entire time while maneuvering his fingers up and down the guitar’s neck, Jaime making weird faces and bouncing around with his bass. And then there was Vic, bouncing and jumping around as well, singing, talking, screaming into the microphone, interacting with the crowd and I could really see the effort he put into performing—they all put that effort in, like this was their last show ever and they had to leave it all out there.

But, most of all, they were having fun. That was the most important part, I could just see how happy they were. They really belonged out there, anybody could see it.

“Amazing, huh?” Jess nudged me. I grinned and nodded at her.

“I’ve never really been to a concert at all, in general,” I admitted. She nodded, and I noticed her eyes narrow briefly, as if she was trying to figure me out again, but she smiled, covering it up.

“Thank you so much, San Diego! We will see you soon!” Vic cheered into the microphone as their last song ended. He, Tony, and Jaime threw their guitars to their guitar techs—I widened my eyes at this, wondering how they trusted each other not to drop the expensive equipment—and the waved to the crowd and jogged off stage. Jaime threw a few more picks to the crowd and I saw Vic ball up their set list and throw it into the crowd, too. Mike tossed a drumstick in, and I was sure Tony tossed some picks, too. It was amazing how those simple, replaceable things for them were magnificent tokens for the fans. I smiled again.

A sweaty, half-naked Mike grinned at me, patting my shoulder. He then walked over to where Chloe and Zoe were standing, hugging them both even as they protested (although their laughs conflicted with their objections).

Seconds later, before I even turned my head back around, I felt a body collide with mine—Vic. He wrapped his arms tightly around my lower waist and pressed a firm kiss to my lips. I smiled at how hyped up he was. Before I even had a chance to say hello or tell him how amazing the show was, he was kissing me again, over and over and over.

“Vic,” I laughed, even though I didn’t really want to stop it.

“Hm?” he hummed, continuing to press strong kisses to my lips, his eyes closed as he did so. It was as if he was trying to savor the feeling of our lips together. I caved in for a moment, closing my eyes too and allowing him to kiss me—I kissed back. He pushed me back, pinning me against a nearby wall.

“Let’s not get carried away here,” I giggled, touching the side of his face to bring him back into reality. He pulled away and opened his eyes, smiling sheepishly.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hey, Vic,” I rolled my eyes playfully. “People are staring,” I informed him with another laugh.

“Let them,” he murmured as he kissed me again.

“C’mon,” I urged with a chuckle. “Later, I promise,” I whispered, stroking his cheek. He laughed and nodded, pulling away but keeping a protective arm around my waist.

Since they were the last band to play, the guys didn’t linger long. They were itching to get home and be settled—Vic was obviously itching for something else—but all in all they wanted to get their equipment together and stored and call it a night until next time. I feared that ‘next time’—their next tour—would be soon, but no one brought it up. A band as incredible as theirs, though, definitely should have tours lined up all over the world.

As if he could read my mind, Vic murmured in my ear, “This year’ll be tough, getting back into the swing of things. But then we’ll be writing again and things will slow down. It’ll be okay.” I smiled and squeezed his hand. Maybe I had accidentally said some of my thoughts out loud—how embarrassing—which was why he said that. It didn’t look like he minded, though. It had to be brought up eventually.

They had stuck around the venue for a few minutes after the show, talking to the fans that were lingering. Somehow I had convinced Vic to let go of my hand to go hang out with Chloe, and I stood back with the other guys. I watched him for a little bit—he seemed to get along well with her, he seemed to already really care about her, like her problems were his problems, too. Vic had such a big heart, no matter how broken it was. A heart that big had to be fixed.

It was getting late, so everyone decided to go their separate ways—Tony with Faith and Jaime with Jess, obviously.

Vic hugged Chloe bye before returning to me. His eyes told me that we had things to talk about tomorrow, and I nodded, understanding that he wanted to share with me the things he and Chloe talked about. Mike spent an extra few minutes telling Zoe bye—Vic snickered, seeing his brother making out with Zoe in the distance.

“Sorry about that,” Vic scratched the back of his neck. Chloe just laughed.

“I kind of expected that, to be honest,” she shook her head.

“You’re not pissed at her?”

“I’m seventeen, you are all in your late twenties, early thirties. Zoe can do what she wants. I just like your music,” she said. Vic gave her an approving thumbs up. But then he pouted. “I mean you guys are alright,” she teased, punching his shoulder. Vic grinned and ruffled her hair.

“Hey, uh…” Vic started. “Would you like a lift home? Your sister drove here, right?” Chloe nodded. “Well we can make them figure transportation out themselves,” Vic suggested, shrugging his shoulders.

“If that’s not a burden to you,” she eyed me, and I smiled happily.

“Not at all,” Vic said. “You’ll have to ride the bus back to where my car is, but,” he shrugged his shoulders again, allowing her to weigh the options. She nodded with a shy smile.

“Okay,” she said.

“Alright, sweet. Let’s get out of here then. When Mike gets his head out of the clouds he can figure out a way to get home himself,” Vic waved him off, dismissing the pair who were still going at it. Chloe nodded and giggled slightly.

I distanced myself from Vic during the ride to the warehouse, letting him have time with Chloe. She seemed to be savoring every second of it, so I didn’t want to get in the way. I didn’t mind, of course. Vic smiled at me thankfully.

When we got to the warehouse, the bus parked and we all exited the bus. Vic and the other guys helped put away some stuff in their proper places—this warehouse was also where they held practice, official practice, that is, and they could leave most of their stuff locked up here. Vic said that they would come back around sometime tomorrow to bring some stuff home and finish the rest.

Then, we got in his car. I felt a little awkward, honestly like a third wheel, but I sat in the back even with Vic and Chloe objecting. Vic eyes me in the rearview mirror and winked, causing me to blush. Luckily Chloe’s house wasn’t too far away; we were there within ten minutes.

“Is anyone home?” he asked like a concerned father.

She shook her head. “Nope. But it’s better that way. Thanks so much for today. It was honestly the best day of my life,” she said, wiping away a tear. Vic smiled and leaned across the console to give her a departing hug.

“It was great hanging with you, Chloe. Thanks for being an awesome fan,” Vic said. “And if you need anything, I trust you, okay? Give me a call,” Vic urged. She nodded and sniffled again. I was surprised at this, that Vic would give his phone number to a fan, but then again the girl looked honest and genuine, she wouldn’t do anything with it hopefully. The worst that could happen would be that he’d have to get a new number, anyway, but still. They must have talked about serious stuff for him to trust her like that, though.

“It was nice to meet you, too,” she smiled shyly at me. I waved and reciprocated the statement. Chloe climbed out of the car and half walked half jogged up to her front door. I got out too and went into the front seat. Vic turned his head and looked at me, sighing.

“I’m just so exhausted,” he sighed, closing his eyes briefly and reopening to reveal that we were going to talk about serious things tomorrow—it seemed like we had a lot to talk about.

“Don’t say that, after what you put me through today,” I teased, sticking my tongue out at him. He scoffed and then laughed. “We can go to my place, if you’d like,” I suggested, a shyness creeping up into me. Vic nodded, understanding: I lived alone, which meant no interruptions.



“That was the most painful day of my life,” he breathed as we neared my apartment. I laughed at how sexually frustrated he was and patted his leg as a form of support. “Oh, but I don’t want you to think—” he started, but I cut him off with a gentle hush.

“I know,” I said, smiling. “Hey, I’m dying too, dude, it’s not just you. I’m just not supposed to show it because I’m a lady,” I added. Vic laughed, and I saw that we arrived at my apartment complex. We got out and I immediately jumped on his back, he caught me just in time, squeezing my legs with his hands. I took his hat off and put it on myself before moving his hair aside, attacking his neck with kisses. He groaned as he walked forward to my place, and I smirked.

I have never really been so attached to a person in my life like this before. I guess Vic was my “person”, because I never valued sex as much as I do with him. I’ve never really wanted it this bad, to be honest. Especially since what happened. I was actually surprised that I let him in so quickly, considering “what happened” didn’t happen that too long ago. But, just like his healing from his dark patch quickly, so was I. I guess we were helping each other in that sense, speeding up the healing process. And being away from him for an entire month, and suddenly reunited, I needed him badly. I desired to feel him in every way, I wanted him to protect me and hold me and even love me, but I also wanted to do the same for him—it obviously went both ways. I wanted love and passion, but I also didn’t mind intensity and raw, instinctive desire, which was what we were experiencing now.

When he got up to my level, I gently bit down on his skin playfully before sliding off of his back. He groaned. I took out my keys and snuck in front of him, jamming it into the lock. He pressed himself against me from behind as I struggled with the door. “Relax,” he whispered into my ear, and with those words I did just the opposite. I completely melted and the keys fell out of my hands. Vic laughed loudly and reached down, picking them up for me. I smirked at him and finally got the door open, falling inside immediately with Vic. He closed the door with his foot, turned around and slid the lock across, and returned his eyes to mine. He took my face in his hands and kissed me hard. My keys slipped from my grasp again but this time neither of us made an effort to pick them up. I gripped Vic’s collar and dragged him back with me to my room, his lips had already found my jaw and I was gasping in pleasure already.

He pushed me back on my bed and crawled across, hovering over me. His shirt was already off and I was in the middle of working on mine, both of us in a hurry. His breath was hot on my face and his voice was low and husky. “Finally.”

Notes

Heyyyyyyy I nice long update for y'all. I've been in the car all day so I'm tired but I really wanted to get this in, but be warned it was not edited really so there are probably many typos and such.
Hope it was okay, and i welcome all sorts of feedbackkk

I am ending this soon, I think. There's still a lot to deal with though in my opinion, so I can't put a number on it. All i know is that I would like to end this soon, it's been going on forever, so expect the chapters to be long and jam packed but not really that frequent as I try to solve world hunger in a minimal amount of chapters lol

ps I gave up on naming chapters for this story oh well

I hope everyone's holidays are going okay! See ya next time